Use of ipads in Schools

[MrCake]

I have been searching for studies, analyses, research etc. into the use of ipads in schools, particularly secondary schools, but can't seem to find anything that looks independent or useful. What I find seems to be either promoted by equipment suppliers or to be old or very superficial. DAK of any reliable studies into the effect of using ipads?

Mrs C and I were planning to send our eldest to a very successful and popular school, but have only recently discovered that they use ipads quite heavily in the classroom and for homework. We use them ourselves at home but are doubtful about the impact on the learning process if used all the time at school. We can see their benefit for, say, looking at "3D" representations in biology etc. but are sceptical about their use for writing up notes and essays. As I write this I am finding it hard to pin down exactly what my problem is, but Mrs C has more of a problem with it than myself. A lot rides on this as it's her only objection to this school and consequently to us moving (which I desperately want to do!). Our daughter has been accepted but we might not accept the place as we have alternatives (ipad free - at the moment anyway).

Anybody have any pointers to research, or have their own experiences as a teacher, parent or pupil, or just have any thoughts to share?

Yours in confusion.
Mr C

[UncleIan]

Just anecdotal from me I'm afraid...

My daughter is bright, top set, in the high achievers programmes. Studious, does her work, never bunks off "a joy to teach" etc etc. Her school decided that ipads were mandatory, and hers was the first year they brought this in. In a completely unexpected attach of boldness, she decided it was a waste of money, and that she could see no benefit of getting one. We said money wasn't a problem. She wouldn't hear of it. So she just carried on without one. Her executive summary: It probably didn't make any difference. The kids that would [expletive deleted] about anyway would [expletive deleted] about on their ipads instead of working on them. The dedicated kids would use them properly. As she was a good kid, school rules about not using your mobile got blind eyed for her, so if she needed to do google searches she could, or she'd just team up with a friend.

They also need to make sure the teachers are actually trained to make the best of them. And again, it doesn't change anything, if the teachers are poor the swooshy fancy presentation will be poor. If they can't control a class, they still won't if the kids have iPads.

She never got in trouble for not having one. Nothing was said to us parents as far I remember. I mean, apart from generic "everyone needs to have an iPad" emails.

[midnightcatprowl]

I very much doubt if there is any really sound useful research into this issue as yet. In 10 or 20 years time there might be but by then iPads will be a quaint old fashioned thing that people used to use before they started doing whatever it is that people will be fretting about by then. When I was a child in the 50s and teen in the 60s my grandmother constantly implored me not to read so much as I would spoil my eyesight, get a permanent bend in my neck and what have you, she used to go on and on and on about it - naturally I paid no attention whatsoever. I'm 69 now, my eyesight is still pretty good (a lot better than my grandmother's at the same age) and my neck still looks reasonably normal. My obsessive reading habit helped me be the first person in my family to go to university and on from that to professional well paid jobs and later to interesting self-employment. I still constantly read, thank heavens my grandmother can't see me and my Kindle!

The point to what I'm saying above? Well I'm not a parent but I am a qualified and experienced teacher, ditto educational psychologist and later self-employed retailer who sometimes employed and trained young staff who apparently had been born with smartphones embedded in their palms. Some of the older members of my team had a lot to say about the younger ones and their phones but actually the younger folk were perfectly efficient and actually more trainable even if the best way to do it was by sending them texts!

Given my background as a teacher and then Ed Psych I do still take an interest in a lot of the 'research' on educational outcomes given this and that but frankly most of it seems to be to be very low grade and not to be taken seriously until proved by the same results being found by endless repetition of the same research over a long period of time. Tablets haven't been around for long enough for anything to be proven at this stage. I'd also suggest that whatever is proven at any stage, tablets (or whatever devices follow them) are going to predominate everywhere, whether you, me, your wife, or anyone, likes it or not. In meetings you see people taking notes on them and referring to them for information and not just business people and university students and lecturers but, for example, I do some voluntary work in a church setting and no member of the clergy in the church team pays attention in a meeting until they've got their tablet open in front of them. In trains and buses and sitting on walls in shopping centres and in cafes you see people tapping away on them.

Given the choice I'd see every school student working on a good quality laptop but it would be a nightmare to organise this in secondary school terms so I can see why schools go down the tablet route.

Every generation tends to hate to see the next generation doing anything differently but you have to ask yourself if there is any real hard proof that the 'different' is worse rather than just 'different'?

Personally I'd say if this school is 'successful' then the unfamiliar way they work may be an element in the success. I'd also, of course, ask 'what do you mean by successful?' - just exam results and Ofsted reports? Or do the students actually seem to like the school and enjoy good mental health and positive outlooks about their own futures? Regardless of the tablets, is enough time and recognition given to physical activity, to art and drama and dance, to appreciation of literature (as opposed to passing English exams - there is a great difference), and to practical subjects, as all these things seem to contribute both to mental health, success in life, and indirectly to exam results in more formal academic studies. Will the school suit YOUR daughter?

Obviously choosing the right school is more important than where you would prefer to live.......but, of course, family contentment also has a great influence on a young person's state of mind and their academic progress. You are looking for a balance.

Frankly I think the use of tablets is a very minor issue in comparison to the other things which make a school work or not for any particular child. Even if in 10 or 20 years time someone has managed to prove that the use of tablets in school was a bad thing, I suspect you'd find that students who used tablets in otherwise 'good' schools still came out on top compared to students in schools who did not focus on the use of tablets but were lacking in other respects.

[MrCake]

Thanks to you both. Your opinions chime with the couple of people I have talked to already about this - if you work hard, and are reasonably bright and have good teachers then you will be "successful", ipads or no ipads.

We feel the school concerned is good in many ways for our daughter, and that's what we have been focussing on - being in a nice area is a bonus. I also feel that they would not be using ipads if they saw any reason that it may be detrimental, so I am willing to trust them on that. Mrs C said we were taking a risk that ipads might be detrimental, I said if we didn't send Little C there then we could be taking a risk that the ipad kids were doing better than her.

I am also going to ask my wife what research or evidence she has that ipads are not good in a school context - I suspect that she will look for this on her ipad or iphone!

[Lanark]

The devil is in the details with these things, I'm sure it is possible for new technology to have either a positive or a negative influence on any learning experience.

In a well managed school, all the devices will be supplied by the school, either free or heavily discounted. All the devices will be setup and managed by the school - they will all be setup with the same software. They will also have carefully thought through issues like charging, applying software updates and dealing with theft and damage.

In a badly managed school, parents will be expected to supply the device, the teachers will be expected to deal with a plethora of different operating systems and software packages that may or may not be compatible. Students who have a new/expensive device or one thats just more compatible with whatever the school expects, will get better marks, while students with lesser devices will be marked down. Huge amounts of classroon time will be wasted trying to get things to work.

When a school is providing the devices, that means they have a budget for this whole project, and that budget will have to be approved and justified with some measurable learning outcome.

[oldapple]

MrCake

http://www.irishnews.com/news/2016/05/1 ... ls-524775/

The above might be of interest to you as it seems to be "independent research" in N Ireland. I haven't read it all, but what I did read makes sense to me.

[didds]

who would funding any "mandatory" ipads?

if its the the school - are we universally happy with the public purse in effect sup[plying every schoolchild with what is in effect a private ipad (Im guessing but I doubt they all get checked in every night and checked out in the morning - what about homework for starters). What happens when they get broken - who foots the bill for repairs/replacements?

if its the families - what happens when family X says "no" (for whatever reason). Child X has to leave that school?


didds

[MrCake]

Didds,
they are supplied by the school (private) so it's effectively just me paying for it!

Oldapple,
yes, I had seen this one thanks, but it was a few years old and not what I would call scientific, so I was hoping for some more.

[UncleIan]

who would funding any "mandatory" ipads?

if its the the school - are we universally happy with the public purse in effect sup[plying every schoolchild with what is in effect a private ipad (Im guessing but I doubt they all get checked in every night and checked out in the morning - what about homework for starters). What happens when they get broken - who foots the bill for repairs/replacements?

if its the families - what happens when family X says "no" (for whatever reason). Child X has to leave that school?

From my evidence of one. A state school. The parents were supposed to pony up for the iPad. They had a loan scheme for staged payments, or a lease scheme, I don't recall, and I think there were some that you could go and borrow during the day. All the ipads were only supposed to have a limited range of software on them (yes, even the privately owned ones), no games etc, and they were subject to checks. Though I think it tended to be you could put what you like on it as long as you didn't get caught playing it in lessons...well, until about 1/2 way through the year, some kid discovered a vpn app (I think) that allowed them to browse for anything on the internet, bypassing all the school intranet restrictions at a stroke. Of course, the boys lapped this up for more, *ahem* mature, websites. Plenty of girls wanted a bit more freedom in their searches. They all played web games etc. Well, until one got caught, and the staff worked out what was going on. About 200-300 kids got detentions if memory serves

This family said no, or rather, never said yes, and nowt happened.

[didds]

whilst understanding why school wanted to curtail s/w installations etc nonetheless If i was coughing for the thing I think Id be wanting some freedom in what I/we as a family considered appropriate s/w installations.

didds

[dealtn]

I'm not a teacher. I was on the PTA, but in reality am nothing more than a parent.

The school my children attend went down the "ipad" route a couple of years ago. It was, and is, a very good school. I was dubious. I'm not a Luddite, but I am far from an early adopter. Indeed one of the few things I "early adopt" is a healthy dose of scepticism. I guess I was worried this was a trendy way of deviating from the norm and was unsure of the trust I had in the school (headmaster - new, and governors) and their motives in making this change, and was it really the best thing for the children, both in educational terms and in preparing them for the future.

Looking back at this "compulsory change", that cost me nothing (other than the considerable fees I pay anyway - ie. no additional cost) I have a healthy appreciation for what they did. The children are remarkably happy with the "new" way of learning and apply it across the whole curriculum, and are positioned to utilise these skills in the "real world", both now and in the future where they will live and be employed.

However (employing that healthy scepticism once more), I think this outcome has much more to do with the quality of the school, and the management there, than the "magic" of e-learning itself.

So my response should be taken in the spirit of anecdotal evidence only, rather than any quantum of scientific research, or fact provision, but I would say if you are happy with an educational establishment in the round of general provision, and buy into the ethos and general direction of the headmaster (and governors), then this will have a greater bearing on whether this establishment is "right" or not for your loved ones.

In short. Sample size one. Originally sceptical and assuming "trendy" rather than "better". Happy with the outcome.

[MrCake]

Thank you all. I was initially a bit sceptical, but kept an open mind and wanted to be persuaded, as I really wanted our eldest to go to the school. But I am deeply worried about the approach taken by the school. They don't want to answer our questions about how much time is spent on ipads, how their effectiveness is judged etc. saying there is no-one at the school who can answer our questions (despite having a member of staff dedicated to "Digital Learning"). They are very vague and non-specific about it on the phone. I would have thought that some work would have been done before ipads were introduced to determine whether they were a good idea or not, but apparently not.

I'm not persuaded it's a good idea.

[superFoolish]

I'm late to the party here, but I'll offer comments anyway...

I am a former IT teacher / Business Studies (UK state high school). The last school that I taught at (for 4 years; I left 7.5 years ago) was in one of the most deprived areas of the country, and all year 10/11 students (aged 15/16) were issued with 'netbooks'.

Tablets and laptops are just tools; they don't offer anything magical to the learning process.

The key point is that the tools are only as good as the teachers, and most of the teachers I worked with were not trained to use computers, so they were mainly used by students for word-processing and PowerPoint presentations. By the time I taught the students how to use the netbooks properly, it was too late for them to be of much benefit in their other subjects, even if the teachers had catered for their use in the classroom.

If the appropriate systems are set up, iPads (and similar) can be a great tool in the classroom. Great for students to do their research and collect and present results. Also, great for collecting, marking and returning work to students (assuming appropriate processes are in place).

I would be happy for students to use an iPad at school, because all their notes would be in one place and backed up online. I would have students record the lesson using something like Notability, and then they could go back and refer to their notes in conjunction with the recording of the teacher's voice.

OneNote for iPad is also a brilliant tool, that I would encourage any student to use. It's free, and it syncs with the free desktop version. I use an iPad (with Apple Pencil) for work; if you look in my office now, there is (literally) not a single sheet of paper. Everything I need is on my iPad, 100% backed up, accessible from my work and home desktop PCs if needed. If someone gives me a piece of paper, I ask them to email to me, and if they can't, I photograph it and give it back to them. No one gives me pieces of paper any more!

I know that even the youngest high school students can learn how to do these things, and I would have been happy for my students to have (currently-available) iPads with 'Pencil'. I'd probably want them to use a combined keyboard case too.

The issue with misusing equipment in a classroom is a matter of discipline and has nothing to do with the equipment they are using; if they didn't have iPads to distract themselves, they'd find another way, such as mobile phones or writing notes on pieces of paper! If the discipline isn't in place, then pen and paper are also useless. Equipment damage also pertains to disciple; in our 'poor' school, there was rarely any damage to the 200+ netbooks, and it was usually a genuine accident rather than being caused by messing around. Maybe that's because poor kids tend to value precious equipment.

I wouldn't necessarily expect a school to be able to define the benefits of using iPads. They are equipping students to use the technology they will use in their working lives, and (hopefully) instilling a level of responsibility in terms of taking care of the equipment. If your child leaves school being confident and competent in the use of technology, they've already got a head-start over most students. Despite what most parents think, Johnny / Julie is not a computer expert; mostly, they only know how to turn on their phone and use Facebook.

If the school is still teaching students to 'remember things' and then regurgitate those things for the purposes of passing exams, then they should stick with pen and paper.

If they are teaching students how to approach problems, research and then solve them, then iPads are a good tool for the job! One assumes that, for students in a private school, access to WiFi at home would not be an issue. When I was teaching, the kids who did not have Internet access at home could do their homework in one of the computer rooms at lunchtime, or at the end of the day, where there would be someone to assist them.

Apologies for the writing style; I could have spent a whole week writing a response!

[MrCake]

Superfoolish,
No not too late at all, and your contribution is very welcome. On balance, the feedback I have had from this forum and others has been more or less equally for and against, maybe slightly more of the against, but your contribution and others here have been most useful as they go more into how ipads are used and how they are beneficial, or not!

Time to sit down with Mrs C and make a decision.

(next contribution - DAK the best way to get a divorce!)

[UncleIan]

(next contribution - DAK the best way to get a divorce!)

A new iPad will be much cheaper!

[MrCake]

(next contribution - DAK the best way to get a divorce!)

A new iPad will be much cheaper!

But not for me, as I'm now leaning to the ipad route, and Mrs C isn't! I could end up with both!

[didds]

(next contribution - DAK the best way to get a divorce!)

A new iPad will be much cheaper!

But not for me, as I'm now leaning to the ipad route, and Mrs C isn't! I could end up with both!

seems you are in a win-win situation

A) you tell Cake Jnr they can't have the iPad as mum has vetoed it. shrug shoulders ruefully, say "what can you do eh? " and walk away

B) Ask Cake Junior whether they want it. Its their education after all.

C) variation on B). Ask Cake Jnr - if they answer is yes that becomes their next birthday/xmas present (or both of course combined etc - howsoever you carve it up).

D) I'm sure other non divorce solutions are available.

Being boring I'm amazed schools can in effect place every family under such financial pressure - some families of course may have several children at the same school concurrently - we had two at any one primary/secondary school at any one time and had the secondary school had a 6th form potentially all three together.

didds